Flanders plans stricter rules on 'lost' school time

Flanders' education minister has called for a reduction in the number of school days that are lost each year.

The educational system is peppered with school days missed due to teachers’ training days, evaluation days in December and June, local days off, sports events and classes missed due to lack of teachers and, increasingly, strikes.

In Flanders, education minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA) said this has got to stop. She said the next school year 2026-2027 must contain far fewer days in which children are not taught, adding: “The loss of time must be addressed.”

Demir argues that with so much time taken away from regular schooling, the system must be made stricter.

“We see in practice that this just means children are often staying at home without lessons. We already teach 11% fewer hours in Flanders than the OECD average. That is up to 22 fewer days per school year in secondary education. Our quality of education suffers enormously as a result.”

Her reform would include several measures to increase teaching time, Bruzz reports. Notably childcare (garderie) at school will be compulsory if lessons cannot take place, in primary and in secondary education.

Moreover, this care must be “pedagogically meaningful”. Also, students should only be sent home in cases of force majeure - for example due to a flood or to a fire.

In primary education, a maximum of three half-days of pedagogical study (teacher training) will remain possible. But days off for teacher training must not lead to classes being cancelled in secondary education, Demir argues.

The current rules on and allowances for optional holidays will also be changed for primary and secondary education. Suspending lessons because elections will be held in school buildings will also no longer be allowed.

Time off for administrative purposes or "welcome days" at the start of the school year will not be grounds to cancel lessons either.

Demir is even calling for the first and last days of the school year to become fully-fledged teaching days. In Flanders, unless these dates fall on a weekend, these are 1 September and 30 June for primary school children. Dates are normally late August and early July for French-speaking schools.

Finally, in secondary education, there will be a reduction in the maximum number of exam evaluation days.

In a first reaction, the main organisation representing Catholic schools in Flanders said the plans will significantly affect the daily running of schools.

“There has been no consultation about this yet, but we assume that we will soon see concrete proposals,” said Pieter-Jan Crombez, spokesperson for the Catholic schools’ umbrella organisation, Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen (Catholic Education Flanders). “We will first of all question our management boards about this.”

Crombez represents the largest school umbrella organisation. Two main public education networks in Flanders, the GO! (Gemeenschapsonderwijs) and the OVSG (Ondersteuningsvereniging voor Steden en Gemeenten) are still considering the new measure.

Socialist union ACOD has criticised the plans, especially the call to cut teacher training or student assessment days.

“During an evaluation day, the students sit at home, but teachers are intensively busy,” said Nancy Libert, ACOD Education deputy secretary general.

“Every young person has the right to a thorough evaluation. In a secondary school with hundreds of students, that takes time. Such a day can easily run from 8.00 to 20.00 for teachers.”

Also criticising Demir’s mission to fill every school day, she argued that schools have the right to take a few optional days off each year, for example to bridge the gap between a public holiday and a weekend, while adding: “These days have increased over time but can possibly be looked at.”